Job-hunting is expected to get easier for unemployed persons with the creation of a new Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency by the Ministry of Labour.
The ministry has thrown out an appeal to employers to list vacancies with the agency beginning today. In addition a call has been sounded to Guyanese who are unemployed and desirous of working to visit the new agency and sign up.
At the launch of the agency yesterday at Hotel Tower, Minister of Labour, Manzoor Nadir, said the aim was not to take away advertising from the mass media but to complement such advertising.
He said the ministry was merely seeking to have a comprehensive list of job openings across the country that it could work with in finding jobs for young people now entering the labour force and also, persons who are now out of it for various reasons.
“We cannot guarantee that persons who come to us will find jobs immediately or that everyone who shows up will be placed somewhere but we managed to place quite a few persons last year so the prospects look good,” Nadir stated.
He said the ministry hoped to receive listings for every sector in the economy pointing to manufacturing; forestry; mining; fishing and construction to clerical work and domestic services. According to him, no one will be turned away from the agency.
The new recruitment agency will contribute to the economic and social development of Guyana by providing effective and efficient employment services to job seekers and employers, the minister said, adding that it anticipated servicing in excess of 4,000 new and young workers.
Last year the ministry placed 1,500 persons in the labour force and this year that figure is expected to be much higher.
He pointed out that the capacity of the new agency is still small but said it would expand by year-end. With the required staffing and resources, he said, the agency should be upgraded to an interactive one where people can walk in and access the necessary job information on the computer.
The agency’s office is located at the SIMAP building on Camp Street. Em-ployers seeking staff are asked to send their vacancies listing job title, job description basic qualifications; remuneration package, contact information and deadline.
Nadir also announced yesterday that the ministry was working towards mainstreaming its AIDS in the workplace programme and would use this new agency in achieving this.
He said the agency also hoped to find employment for HIV infected persons, many of whom were still having difficulty finding work because of their status.
A series of activities, starting today, is planned for the ministry’s AIDS in the workplace programme, which is estimated at $10 million. Some of the initiatives include a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) that will be promoted among industrial establishments, education seminars in workplaces particularly in the hinterland areas, sensitisation programmes for new and young workers and mass promotion campaigns.
